More than one million kids around the world have discovered one of the most fun clubs ever created for them. The Adventurer Club is designed to strengthen parent-child relationships for kids ages 4-9 by providing specialized weekly activities tuned into the psychological needs of this age group while simultaneously giving parents opportunities for learning parenting skills and enjoying special activities with their children.
The volunteer leadership attend special training sessions to understand how to maximize the focus of the Adventurer Club in strengthening the parent-child bonds and enable both parents and children to understand their relationship to God.
Each child is encouraged to participate in all activities and parents/guardians are given assignments along with their child. There are many age-challenging activities on the Adventurer menu. These range from games and outdoor activities to nature exploration and family camping, field trips and community service projects. A five level age-specific curriculum is used along with approximately 80 specialized award areas of crafts, nature, recreation, spiritual development and home arts.
Adventurer Curriculum The Adventurer curriculum is divided into four levels. The Busy Bee level is designed for first-graders.The Sunbeam level for second-graders.The Builder for third-gradersThe Helping Hand level for fourth-graders. Each level builds on the levels which came before it and is especially designed to interest, challenge, and provide successful experiences for children of that grade level.
For those who are familiar with it, “Pathfindering” conjures up images of marching, camping, curious hobbies, bugs and bats. Enlarging their windows on the world and building a relationship with God are the dual objectives of this club, which is designed for children ages 10-15. With nearly 2 million members around the world, this Seventh-day Adventist Church-sponsored club accepts any youth who promises to abide by the Pathfinder Pledge and Law regardless of their church affiliation.
The volunteer leadership, skilled in a myriad of unusual abilities and interests are, first and foremost, strong believers in Jesus Christ and are sure of the road they are taking towards eternal life. They consider the Pathfinder club an experimental laboratory where growth and learning are synonymous with fun. Failure is not expected, but rather all activity becomes a tool for learning.
The imagination of its leadership and members are the primary limiting factors of a club’s abilities. Activities encourage a range from community/civic service projects in their community and across the globe to nature and environmental conservation studies to camping and high adventure trips. Pathfindering challenges the unique talents of each member. Pathfindering is built on an age-specific curriculum of six levels along with approximately 350 specialized skill development topics covering arts and crafts, aquatics, nature, household arts, recreation, spiritual development, health, and vocational training. These often serve as a launching point for lifetime careers or hobbies.
Philosophy The Seventh-day Adventist Church is committed to understanding young people and training its youth for leadership and service to humanity.The Pathfinder Club is a church-centered spiritual-recreational-activity program designed for young people 10 to 15 years of age. Pathfindering appeals to this age group because its program features activities that meet their needs and interests.
The story of the Adventist Youth Society, now titled Young Adults (YA), began over 125 years ago along a dusty country lane in Michigan with two young boys kneeling in prayer. Today that dusty lane has become a world-wide web of highways that links over 10 million Seventh-day Adventist young people in nearly every political entity on every continent of the globe. This story comes in every hue of the rainbow; it is filled with extremes of exhilaration and mountaintop experiences, as well as deep sadness and unfulfilled dreams. This is the story of God’s leading a fascinating army down through the battles of the great over arching conflict that is life as we know it now.
The Objective of Young Adults Ministry “To save from sin and guide into service:” this true and only motive, so complete and impressive, was adopted during the 1926 General Conference session. To obtain the salvation of the youth it is necessary to give them every possible opportunity to participate in all Adventist youth activities.
Experience the transformation that comes from reaching out to others. Watch your young people grow in their relationship with God through sharing God’s love with others. See that love overflow into families, friends, neighbors, and yes… the world! “Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: ‘God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age'” (Matthew 28:18-20, The Message).
The salvation of youth through Jesus Christ. We understand youth ministry to be that work of the church that is conducted for, with, and by young people.
The Advent message to all the world in my generation.
The love of Christ compels me.
Loving the Lord Jesus, I promise to take an active part in the youth ministry of the church, doing what I can to help others and to finish the work of the Gospel in all the world.